I started this blog in 2011 after surviving a stroke. Since then my focus has changed from recovery and life with teenagers to Movies and Life with Adult Children. The remaining constant is my delusion of Royalty. Thank you for visiting my little realm

May 24, 2013

Losing Fat, Loving Food Friday May 24

It has been a rough two weeks, sorry for the spotty posts this month (see explanation here). Only one more weigh in for the month of May. My goal date is looming.

First off let's start with last night's weigh in. I lost .8 pounds. I'll admit I was a bit disappointed as I thought I was going to reach 50 but maybe next week. So to clarify I have lost a total of 48.6 pounds, I have 1.4 to hit 50 and get a token at Weight Watchers and 3.4 to hit 52 pounds. I have realized these past weeks that I have become a bit obsessive. Unfortunately it isn't with something that is actually helpful. Thankfully it isn't with a new food ~ those days happen on their own and need no help. Nope my latest unhealthy obsession is the affair I'm having with our bathroom scale. Seriously, you may laugh but it has gotten a bit much. I can't go into the bathroom without stepping on the blasted thing. To top it all off when I bought the scale the manufacturer forget to include the daily medications I am supposed to administer. What else can be the reason for it saying that I gained 12 pounds over the weekend? And TMI be damned both times I was wearing all that God decorated me with at birth. Even hubby has threatened to throw the thing out the window. He has weighed himself before and after a shower. One day it had him losing weight another time gaining. So with the help of my dear friend Abbe the scale will be leaving our household for the near future. And by the way don't think I don't know some of you are just as guilty as I am so put that smirk right back in your pocket thank you very much.

So you know we've been doing the whole Meatless Monday thing, not as thrilled about it as I was when we started but I am remaining committed. While searching out new recipes I noticed that an awful lot of them call for pastas and such well that's my Thursday night food so I'm not cooking it Monday as well. Then I stumbled onto Risottos. I love risottos and having one on Monday night should not interfere with a weigh-in on Thursday. The first one I made was with roasted butternut squash. The risotto was nice as was the roasted butternut squash and outside of combining them the last few minutes of cooking there was no real marriage of flavors.
Then last week while I was at Trader Joe's they has the nicest Baby Bella mushrooms and inspiration struck. Baby Bella and Sherry Risotto!! Well let me tell you everyone was just about licking their plates! I think the success laid in the fact that I incorporated the mushroom flavor throughout the entire process. Unfortunately I didn't take a picture but here's my recipe:

Using a damp rag clean any dirt off of the mushrooms. Separate the mushrooms into two piles by size. Remove and chop up the stems. Slice the smaller mushrooms and quarter the larger ones.
Spray a large skillet with Pam. Over medium heat melt the butter. Being careful not to crowd them, place the small sliced mushrooms in the pan and brown. Patience is very important, you want the flavors of the mushrooms to develop and DO NOT SALT. When the mushrooms are almost browned add the chopped mushrooms, if necessary add a quick spray of Pam. The chopped mushrooms will cook much faster. When all are evenly browned add the sherry. The mushrooms will absorb the sherry in but a minute.
Add the rice. Stir so the rice is nicely coated by the mushroom/sherry combination. Add your first ladle of stock, stirring constantly until it is absorbed. To know when to add more I do this simple test: drag your spoon down the middle of the pan, if there is no liquid trail and the rice stays on either side you're ready for your next ladle of broth. Continue adding stock one ladle at a time. Risotto is a dish of love and patience. Embrace the fact you're going to be standing in front of your stove for 20 minutes and enjoy not having to run elsewhere. After you've used 3/4 of your broth start testing... notice I said testing not tasting. Sometimes, depending on who knows what, my rice seems to need more liquid than others and trust me crunchy risotto is not glorious. Your rice should be almost done. Also start testing. I like to add my herbs near the end as it seems their flavors can get lost otherwise. Depending on your broth you may not need to add any salt or pepper. Before you add your last ladle of stock stir in your quartered mushrooms. They are not going to take long to cook and you don't want them having the same texture as the ones you sauteed earlier.
When the rice is just a little more than al dente add one last splash of sherry. Remember your rice will continue to cook even after you remove it from the stove. I like to put it in a large serving bowl and set a dish on top while everyone comes to the table. The aroma is absolutely glorious when you remove that cover dish.
WW PP+ 9 sorry didn't measure just divided for the 4 of us.
This served the 4 of us as a main entree and we were quite satisfied. OK my soon to be marine son did want some bread but hey he's 19 what else would you expect.

So that was my life with food and fat. Hopefully next week I'll be sharing a new sparkly I lost 50 pounds button ~ until then!